It may only be episode 15, but a lot has happened this season. After departing at the end of last season, Sara Lance returned to Starling City only to be murdered. This then became the driver behind pretty much everything that’s happened since then.

One of the defining elements of this show has been the parallel storytelling of contemporary Starling City and Ollie’s life 5-years ago. For the first couple of years, the flashbacks dealt with his time on the island, with season 3 transplanting the flashbacks to Hong Kong as Ollie was forced to work for Amanda Waller as part of her covert team.

This week turns it around, with the flashbacks taking Ollie back to Starling in 2010, looking in on the characters at a time before we first knew them, and where they were still grieving the loss of Oliver. Oh… and there’s wigs… a lot of wigs! (more…)

Last week, we left the Flash racing Caitlin away from the site where the fused Firestorm is about to explode with a nuclear blast. Of course they outrun the explosion, which turns out to be the energy released by the fission of Ronnie and Professor Stein. Perhaps not surprisingly, given their enforced conjoining, Stein and Raymond tend to snark at one another, though the chemistry between the two ensures it remains mild.

A late arrival to last week’s episode was General Wade Eiling, whose intent is to use meta-humans and meta technology to create an army of super soldiers. His previous attempt with Plastique didn’t go so well, so he’s keen to succeed with Firestorm.

Like last week’s Arrow, this episode had a lot more going on than normal, and felt a little crowded in parts. However, with a hiatus coming up, it gives us a lot to take away and ponder. (more…)

Whilst comics may drive the initial creation of tv shows, the need to ground it within a real world, together with the building of its own mythos means that it doesn’t take long for a series to move away from its roots. Every so often, there is a moment when the show figuratively takes a breath in order to clear out some of the overhanging plot elements.

Last week, Arrow had reached one of those points – Oliver had returned from a battle to the death with Ra’s al Ghul; Laurel was running around hitting criminals with a stick as the Canary replacement for her dead sister whilst allowing (and actively encouraging) her father to believe Sara was still alive; everyone knows Oliver is the Arrow with the exception of Thea. (more…)

Effectively part one of a two-part story, this episode feels to be something of a curate’s egg, or perhaps half thereof. Much of what we see this episode comes across as setup for part two, though there is still plenty to enjoy. (more…)

Ollie’s enforced absence from Starling City has given Brick (Vinnie Jones) a month-long opportunity to build his gang and start to take over the Glades, with the police unable to stop him, despite the efforts of Team Arrow to assist. Given that the field Team Arrow is basically Roy at the moment – Laurel tries hard, but she still looks like she basically just hits people with a stick as hard as she can; Diggle must have babysitting duties; and despite last week’s pep talk about carrying on the Arrow’s work, Felicity seems to be slipping backwards again – it’s impressive that they are achieving some measure of respect from the locals. It also highlights how important the Arrow is as a symbol to the people of the city, and to the Glades in particular. (more…)

Join the Doctor on his latest adventure through space alongside familiar foes the Dalek’s and the Cybermen. The Doctor and The Dalek is a thrilling new game, available as an app on tablets and has been specially released to be part of the BBC’s Make it Digital initiative to inspire a new generation to get creative with coding, digital technology and programming.

To celebrate the EastEnders 30th anniversary the BBC are giving you and a friend the chance to win a tour of Albert Square!

The competition will be open until midnight on Friday 13th February, be sure you don’t miss out!

There’s also a special series of programmes with cast members past and present, ‘Back to Ours’ available now on BBC iPlayer – This week Shane & Jessie welcome you into their Walford home. Relive infamous Moon moments, from halted weddings to huge family revelations.

Many shows tend to sag a little mid-season in the lull between the excitement of the new season and the build towards the endgame of the season finale. This can often be the case with a new show that is either taking a cautious approach to introducing the mythos, or one which wants to spread the material out to last the lifetime of the show.

Flash seems to be ignoring the conventions and is not only introducing elements from the comics almost every week – something that is perhaps easier to do with the character given his renowned rogues gallery of villains. From the A-list, we haven’t seen Golden Glider in action, the two Tricksters are due shortly, and we’re yet to see Mirror Master, the Top and Abra Kadabra. With the formation of a team of Rogues (we’ve already seen Heat Wave and Captain Cold team up, and a brief moment of Golden Glider, but with the Tricksters and a new Weather Wizard imminent, it would seem a likely time to bring in Mirror Master at least). (more…)

DIRECTOR PAUL WILMSHURST REVEALS THE SECRET OF MAKING DOCTOR WHO AS SCARY AS POSSIBLE – EXCLUSIVELY IN DWM 483!

Paul Wilmshurst, director of the recent Doctor Who episodes Kill the Moon, Mummy on the Orient Express and Last Christmas, explains the challenges of working on the series, in his first major interview….

“We were all very proud of the fact that the Mummy was so scary they wouldn’t put it in the series trailer,” Paul tells DWM. “It’s always about how far can you go? I think the old joke is true: how complicated can you make it to hold a child’s attention, and how simple can you make it for adults? Can you make it scary enough for the children to be satisfied, but not too scary for the adults to be worried?” (more…)